Colorado vs UICOM (Chicago)

[traddart]

I am very fortunate to have received a few acceptances this cycle, and currently my options include University of Colorado and University of Illinois at Chicago. I am OOS to both schools, and do not have any connections to either regions. Any feedback and comments would be greatly appreciated in making this important decision!

University of Colorado

Pros:
- Higher ranking (#27 in research and #6 in primary care according to US News)
- While both schools have very high tuition, Colorado has slightly cheaper tuition (~$100k COL vs $110k COL)
- Strong research which I am interested in
- The prospect of living close to nature is interesting as I've lived in a city most of my life

Cons:
- Farther away from home
- Denver/Aurora sounds a bit less exciting than Chicago

University of Illinois

Pros:
- Chicago is closer to home and a large metropolitan area with diversity
- While ranking is lower (#55 in research and #67 in primary care), their match list is solid

Cons:
- Very expensive tuition
- Lower ranking, especially with Step 1 going P/F, ranking matters more (?)
- From what I hear, the area isn't the greatest but I've also heard Aurora isn't very safe either

Regardless of my decision, I will most likely be away from my support system for four years. My other concerns are future prospects with regards to residency matching, balancing work-life, and school curriculum/administration. Thank you for any input!

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[JohnJacobJingleheimer]

As you said about UICOM, the match list there is good enough that I wouldn’t be too concerned about ranking. I think they’re closer in reputation than their rankings might indicate; however, Colorado has an undeniable advantage in regards to research funding. UICOM is no slouch when it comes to research, however; so, while getting involved in research there won’t be an issue, you’ll likely have more options at Colorado.

I will say, your lost of pros and cons is pretty surface level. really hard to compare. only contrast I see is do you want to be closer to nature or to home lol. In this instance, I say trust your gut, and go where you feel like you WANT to go. The logic front here is kinda a wash.

While I don’t want to frighten you, those COA’s are concerning. As you well know, both of those coming out to 400k+ before interest is anxiety inducing… does your parent or self income disqualify you from need based aid or something? Not that UICOM really offers any. Unsure about Colorado. I just think you need to reach out to financial aid and see if either school can cut you some slack, unless you do just come from a well off background and that is why they are holding you to the expectation that you can cover the whole bill.

Congrats on two solid options! Good luck!

 

[deleted1108356]

UICOM's CoA is $80k this year actually. They lowered OOS tuition to $59k this year. I would check your financial aid package.

 

[chilly_md]

I believe that is misleading as that doesn’t include the separate summer tuition that is required. I would be surprised if they legitimately lowered the tuition based on how the extra OOS charges are needed to shore up funding.

 

[JohnJacobJingleheimer]

I believe that is misleading as that doesn’t include the separate summer tuition that is required. I would be surprised if they legitimately lowered the tuition based on how the extra OOS charges are needed to shore up funding.

This is correct. They don’t factor in summer tuition or COL into the original aid package. The OOS tuition is still 70k+

 

[Mikiras]

This is correct. They don’t factor in summer tuition or COL into the original aid package. The OOS tuition is still 70k+

I'm IS so this may be skewed, but my fin aid package did include COL on it. But as JJJ said, not the summer tuition and COL. I estimated the summer COA to be about $23-25k IS. I did not check OOS but if it's even higher than the additional $23-25k, that is still pretty steep for OOS.

 

[Med Love]

UICOM's CoA is $80k this year actually. They lowered OOS tuition to $59k this year. I would check your financial aid package.

Do you have a link to this?

 

[deleted1108356]

Do you have a link to this?

I apologize for the mistake, this is what I saw on my own financial aid package, but other users in this thread have already corrected me. I see on your past activity that you already know the accurate numbers for UICOM and if you still need them, I would encourage you to call their financial aid office. No need to harass me and others to provide you with the information about the school and its financial aid when you have a plethora of resources! Thanks so much.

 

[Med Love]

I apologize for the mistake, this is what I saw on my own financial aid package, but other users in this thread have already corrected me. I see on your past activity that you already know the accurate numbers for UICOM and if you still need them, I would encourage you to call their financial aid office. No need to harass me and others to provide you with the information about the school and its financial aid when you have a plethora of resources! Thanks so much.

No harassing. If your oos financial package shows 59k, I would absolutely take your word for that. And I don’t really know the accurate numbers, I’m just limited to what I can find on their web page which is confusing. It’s nice to know they reduced the tuition anyway if that is the case.

 

[deleted1108356]

No harassing. If your oos financial package shows 59k, I would absolutely take your word for that. And I don’t really know the accurate numbers, I’m just limited to what I can find on their web page which is confusing. It’s nice to know they reduced the tuition anyway if that is the case.

Double checked right now, I'm looking at the cost of attendance and it says out of state tuition is $57,250.00 and then estimated variable costs are $23,600.00. To be honest, I have not looked into what a lot of people are mentioning about summer tuition and the accurate cost for that because unfortunately I won't be able to afford UICOM. I interviewed at both UICOM and Colorado; got the A from UICOM and waitlisted at Colorado. In my opinion UICOM had a much better vibe and current students were very friendly and involved on campus. I would have really loved to attend that school if it was more affordable for me, but I received better aid from some other schools so have kind of halted my research about the campus and their costs. Hopefully they give you and others better financial aid! It's definitely worth going and they had a fantastic match list this year.